What We Can Know
Table of Contents
By Ian McEwan
Knopf: 320 pages, $30
In our fiercely tribal and divisive culture, when consensus is illusory and we can’t seem to agree on even the most fundamental facts, the notion of shared history as a societal precept has left the building. But if we are indeed living in a post-truth era, Ian McEwan is here to tell us that things will only get worse.
In his bracing new time bender of a novel, the great British novelist posits that the past is irretrievably past, especially in matters of the human heart, and any attempt by historians or biographers to wrench it into the present is folly – or in the case of this novel’s protagonist Thomas Metcalfe, intellectual vanity.
Metcalfe is an associate humanities professor and a researcher living in England in the 22nd century (2119, to be exact) who has taken it upon himself to unlock the mystery of a poem called “A Corona for Vivien,” written in 2014 by a deceased literary eminence named Francis Blundy, a poet whose genius, we learn, once rivaled that of Seamus Heaney.The poem was composed for his wife Vivien’s birthday dinner in October 2014, an evening that has taken on mythic proportions in certain academic circles in the intervening years. It even has a name: The Second Immortal Dinner, in which Blundy for the first time read his corona, a poem composed as a sequence of sonnets, that had been lost long ago.
In Metcalfe’s hothouse literary universe, Blundy’s poem is important because it is a revenant. in the intervening years, interpretive speculation about it has run rampant. Some have called it a warning about climate change. others say Blundy was paid a six-figure sum by an energy company to suppress the poem. Only fragments of it exist, certain fugitive lines that appear in correspondence between Vivien, Blundy and Blundy’s editor, Harold T. Kitchener. Metcalfe has taken it upon himself to find the long-lost document, allegedly written by Blundy on a vellum scroll and buried by Vivien somewhere on Blundy’s property.
Metcalfe’s task is greatly elaborate by the fact that he lives in a future world where much of the planet has been either immolated or else submerged underwater by a nuclear cataclysm that McEwan calls “The Inundation.” There has also been a mass migration – “The Derangement” – in which millions, deprived of resources and land, have been driven from England into Africa. Entire cities have been lost, “the land beneath them compressed and lowered, so
Ian McEwan’s “lessons” Explores the Elusive Nature of truth in Biography
Ian McEwan’s latest novel, Lessons, delves into the complexities of biography, revealing how easily narratives can be shaped by assumptions and how profoundly difficult it is indeed to truly know another person. The novel,as reviewed by Gene Weingarten,pivots between the story of a contemporary biographer,Mark Metcalfe,and the life of his subject,Roland Blundy,and Blundy’s wife,Vivien. While Metcalfe believes he’s uncovering a romantic tale fueled by thwarted ambition, McEwan subtly dismantles this interpretation, demonstrating the limitations of relying on fragmented evidence to reconstruct a life. The review highlights how McEwan uses a shocking revelation – a carefully concealed murder – to underscore the gap between perceived reality and lived experience, and the inherent fallibility of biographical endeavors.
The Illusion of Knowing: Metcalfe’s Errant Path
The review emphasizes that McEwan initially presents a narrative aligning with Metcalfe’s initial understanding: Blundy,a writer,penned a poem for his wife,Vivien,who sacrificed her academic career for their life together. However,this surface-level agreement quickly dissolves as McEwan reveals the depth of deception and hidden motives.
Metcalfe’s romanticized view of blundy’s life is challenged by the revelation of a meticulously planned murder, concealed through methods that would evade even the most diligent research. This isn’t a crime of passion, but a calculated act, shielded by the very digital tools Metcalfe relies on – unsent emails and deleted correspondence. This highlights a crucial point: the modern world, while seemingly transparent, can also facilitate profound secrecy.
Moreover, the poem, initially perceived as a testament to Blundy’s love and dreams, is re-contextualized as a form of passive-aggression. vivien, too, is far more complex than Metcalfe’s interpretation allows, harboring resentment and feeling stifled by her choices. Metcalfe, despite his “scholarly assiduity,” is ultimately misled, unable to reconcile the facts he uncovers with the true emotional landscape of the lives he’s studying.
Facts vs. Interpretation: The Biographer’s Folly
A central argument of both the novel and Weingarten’s review is the distinction between facts and their interpretation. The review asserts that facts, in themselves, are insufficient to reveal truth. It is indeed the biographer’s tendency to impose meaning onto disparate events – to seek a cohesive narrative where none may exist – that leads to distortion.
Metcalfe’s pursuit of meaning in Blundy’s lost poem is described as “magical thinking,” a desperate attempt to find a pattern where there is only chaos. this underscores the inherent subjectivity of biographical work. Even the most beautiful art, the most meticulously gathered data, cannot fully encapsulate the contradictory nature of human beings.
McEwan’s Argument: The Limits of Understanding
McEwan’s novel, according to Weingarten, serves as a powerful argument for the inherent limitations of understanding others. It suggests that the human heart is too complex, too full of hidden motivations and unspoken resentments, to be fully revealed through external investigation.The novel doesn’t dismiss the importance of facts, but cautions against the assumption that facts alone can unlock the secrets of a life.
This resonates with broader discussions about the ethics of biography and the responsibility of biographers to acknowledge the inherent unknowability of their subjects. It challenges the notion of a definitive biography, suggesting that any attempt to capture a life in its entirety is inevitably incomplete and colored by the biographer’s own biases.
Key Takeaways:
* The Subjectivity of Biography: Biographies are inherently shaped by the biographer’s interpretations and biases.
* The Limits of Evidence: Even extensive research and access to primary sources cannot guarantee a complete or accurate understanding of a person’s life.
* The Power of deception: Individuals can deliberately conceal aspects of their lives, making it difficult to uncover the truth.
* Facts Don’t Equal Truth: While facts are critically important, they require careful interpretation and shoudl not be assumed to reveal the whole story.
Source: Weingarten, Gene. “Ian McEwan’s ‘Lessons’ Is a Cautionary Tale about the Perils of Biography.” The Washington Post, November 17, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/11/17/ian-mcewan-lessons-review/